Colo. Supreme Court orders Boulder Co. to stop gay marriages

Donnie Herrington, left, and Justin Jones from Longmont, Colo., kiss outside the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder offices in Boulder on Thursday, June 26, 2014, after receiving a marriage license.

(Photo: CPR/Pat Mack)

The Colorado Supreme Court is ordering an end to same-sex marriages in Boulder County.

Clerk Hillary Hall is being sued by Attorney General John Suthers, who argues she overstepped her authority in issuing the licenses. Two lower courts had refused to stop the marriages while the case is being considered.

“I am disappointed by the Colorado Supreme Court’s stay, but I will comply with the order," Hall said in a statement. "Given the avalanche of recent cases determining that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, I am hopeful the stay will be short-lived and that we will be able to resume issuing licenses soon.”

Deputy Boulder County Attorney David Hughes says he's surprised that the Supreme Court took a different approach, but the county will follow its order.

"Clerk Hall has said all along that she'll comply with an order of the court that tells her she needs to stop issuing licenses. But this is the first such order that she has received," Hughes says.

The clerk began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in late June after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver struck down Utah's gay marriage ban. Clerks in Denver and Pueblo followed suit, but stopped following earlier orders from the state Supreme Court.